Esher on mission to climb

Aug 13 2008 By Mark Bengoechea, Surrey Herald

AFTER an exciting first season in National Division One,Esher are looking for a solid follow-up in the second tier of England's rugby elite.

New skipper Toby Clouston believes Esher adapted well to their first campaign, with safety all but secured with five games to go.

But he believes some teams may have under-estimated the National One newcomers and Clouston insists the Surrey side must now step up another gear.

He said: "It was a big jump to National One. The biggest difference is just the size of the opposition, because many are full-time athletes.

"We're not a patch on them. We are always going to be behind in physicality because we just haven't got the time to go in the gym every morning.

"This summer we have tried to recruit bigger players to be able to compete physically.

"The second most noticeable difference is the pace of the game."

Arguably, he says, skills level and most other areas of the game are comparable to National leagues.

"It's just the size and the pace and for someone who isn't that big or that quick, that was a bit of an eye-opener. You have to adapt or you look silly," he added.

"Staying up was our priority last season. We gave a lot of talk about the fact that it wasn't but I guess deep down everyone knew it would be an achievement to stay up.

"The great thing was that we were safe with five or six games to go. Having won seven games by Christmas, and winning 10 games overall, everyone was very proud of our achievements.

"It's a slight shame that we slipped over the last five games. Having been safe we didn't then pick up another win. So the next challenge is to take that a step further.

"Other clubs in the league are going to know what we are about now.

"We might have been a bit of a novelty and they might have taken us a bit lightly.

"They certainly won't this season so that's going to be another big challenge for us."

Clouston reckons a top-eight finish is a realistic target if Esher can steer clear of any serious long-term injuries to key players.

He said: "We want to break into the top half. That's a massive test for us, but there is no reason why we cannot achieve that. Now we have the strength in numbers, so that when injuries and fatigue do come towards the end of the season we will be in a better position to rotate players."

Esher open their new campaign on August 30, with a home clash against promotion favourites Exeter, who hammered Esher three times in league and cup last season.

But Clouston hopes Esher can catch the Chiefs cold and pull off a shock win. He said: "It's actually quite a good first game to have.

"If they are going to show any weakness it will be in the first game. They have recruited massively and are obviously going for the Premiership.

"But they have to gel together, it doesn't matter how good you are, you can't just walk on to the pitch and be perfect in your first game. So it's a great opportunity for us to let the league know we are serious and are not going to be relegation fighters."